With the 2012 NBA Draft set for later this month, the San Antonio Spurs are doing their due diligence
and sizing up incoming college basketball talent.
Though the Spurs pick late in the second round (59th), the team worked out Missouri State’s Kyle Weems last month.
Weems finished as the school’s No. 2 all-time scorer, and he won Missouri Valley Conference MVP honors in leading the Bears to their first conference title in 2010-11. Now, he’s hoping someone gives him a chance to leave a similar legacy in the NBA.
Weems is a good shooter, hitting 40 percent from three-point range his final three seasons. He defended power forwards and centers in the mid-major conference and has to prove to league executives that he’s quick enough to stay in front of NBA shooting guards and small forwards.
“It’s an honor to get invited to an NBA workout and get a chance to show a front office what I can do,” he said. “At times, the travel can get overwhelming, but it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so I’m hitting it head on.”
Weems is 6’6″, 240 pounds, forward and averaged 15.6 minutes, shot 41.1% from the field, 40.4% from the three-point line, 78.1% from the free-throw line, 7.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists, in 31.4 minutes per game as a senior. He also has a 6’10” wingspan.
What Weems lacks in style he makes up for with substance. A highly efficient scorer (53% 2P, 40% 3P, 79% FT), Weems displays many of the characteristics NBA scouts like to see in potential role-players.
Weems’ most consistent means of scoring is based in his jump-shooting ability. 39% of his field goal attempts came from beyond the arc last season, of which he converted a solid 40%. He makes shots with both his feet set or off the dribble, displaying a quick release and a nice follow through. He’s very effective generating offense in the mid-range area, using his body to create space and elevate smoothly for the pull-up jumper. (via Draft Express)
Recall the Spurs traded their 2012 first-round draft pick to the Warriors in the Stephen Jackson-Richard Jefferson trade this season.
With the Spurs picking late in the second round of this month’s NBA Draft, the Spurs will once again be looking to strike gold yet again. However, the Spurs do need to look to fill needs (more size in the pain) which they probably won’t be able to fill late in the second round. Or they could do the usual and draft a foreign player and stash him overseas to develop.
Still, it is not out of the realm of possibility the Spurs trade up in the draft. San Antonio traded George Hill in last year’s NBA Draft for Kawhi Leonard which has proven to be a great trade for the team.
What do you think Spurs fans about Weems? What should the Spurs be looking for late in the second round of the draft?
